The Concept and Measurement of Involuntary Unemployment

Originally published in 1976, the 14 papers in this collection discuss the history and significance of the concept of 'involuntary unemployment', particularly as seen from a Keynesian perspective. The micro-economic foundations of employment and job-search theory and the measurement and the significance of employment statistics are also examined. Later sections consider aspects of unemployment as economic indicators and the relationship between unemployment and vacancies, as well as the social aspects of unemployment. A final chapter considers employment policies during the 20th century in the light of managing the economy.

G.D.N (David) Worswick (1916 - 2001) devoted his professional life to studying the British economy and explaining how it worked, first as a fellow in economics at Magdalen College, Oxford (1945-1965) and subsequently as Director of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (1965-1982). After gaining a first-class degree in mathematics at Oxford, he turned to economics. Having grown up during the period of general unemployment during the 1930s, he saw economics as the way to bring about social change. Much of his work was concerned with the study of the causes of, and policy solutions to, unemployment. His publications include The British Economy 1945-1950 (1952), The British Economy in the 1950s (1962), The Concept and Measurement of Involuntary Unemployment (1976), Education and Economic Performance (1985) and Unemployment: a problem of policy (1991).

Introduction G.D.N. Worswick Part 1: What Is It We Ought To Measure? 1. Unemployment As Seen by the Keynesians Richard Kahn 2. The New Micro-economics of Unemployment Malcolm R. Fisher 3. The 'Micro-economic Foundations of Employment and Inflation Theory': Bad Old Wine in Elegant New Bottles A. G. Hines Part 2: What Is It That We Do Measure? 4. Statistics of Unemployment in the United Kingdom A.R. Thatcher 5. Assessment of Unemployment in the E.E.C. D Harris Part 3: Does What We Measure Match Up to What We Ought to Measure? 6. Some Notes on Current Unemployment J. K. Bowers 7. UV Analysis A.J. Brown 8. The Unemployment Gap in Britain's Production Sector, 1953-73 Jim Taylor 9. Can We Distinguish Voluntary from Involuntary Unemployment? Michael J. Hill 10. The Duration of Unemployment and Job Search Colin Leicester 11. Unemployment in London David Metcalf and Ray Richardson 12. Unemployment and the Social Structure Adrian Sinfield Part 4: Economic Policy and Unemployment 13. Full Employment Policy: A Reappraisal S. Brittan 14. The Target Rate of Unemployment F.T. Blackaby. Summary G.D.N. Worswick.